Platform Decay
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4.5 • 451 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times, USA Today, and National Indie Bestseller!
Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment of Martha Wells' bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.
Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.
After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know.
Including human children. Ugh.
This may well call for... eye contact!
(Emotion check: Oh, for f—)
The Murderbot Diaries
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
Network Effect
Fugitive Telemetry
System Collapse
Platform Decay
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
One of the most emotionally complicated robots in all of sci-fi is on a mission to save some humans it might actually care about in this delightful installment in Martha Wells’ celebrated Murderbot Diaries series. It’s been a long time since Murderbot quietly freed itself from the typical corporate constraints placed on cyborg security units. It doesn’t even fight with its emotional subroutine anymore (well, at least not as much). Murderbot’s on a mission from its favorite human, Dr. Mensah, to rescue her family from a space station when things take an odd turn—and those things are mostly feelings. Murderbot’s trademark sarcasm is on full display in its internal monologue, but we really appreciated the character development that keeps it from going full snark. Its thoughts about (and occasional banter with) the children on board is especially fun and unexpected. If you’ve been following Murderbot’s journey as a character, you won’t be disappointed by its major (if somewhat begrudging) breakthroughs in Platform Decay.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The lethal but good-hearted security robot that narrates Wells's Hugo and Nebula award–winning Murderbot Diaries series returns, alongside friends old and new, for its wildly entertaining eighth adventure (after System Collapse). On a high-stakes extraction mission, Murderbot guides fellow SecUnit, Three, to sneak onto a Corporation Rim station and trigger a distraction. Meanwhile, Murderbot, hidden inside a cargo module, slips through the station's heightened security. To Murderbot's dismay, successfully played for laughs, the station is built to look like an elaborate planetary landscape, with shops and offices built into man-made cliffs and caves. Despite this rocky terrain, Murderbot reaches the safe house holding Farai, one of Murderbot's dear friend Dr. Mensah's two marital partners; their daughter, Sofi; and Farai's mother, Naja. There, Murderbot encounters another unexpected obstacle: Supervisor Leonide, a higher-up in the Corporation Rim, who convinces the reluctant robot to help her family, sending it on a long and dangerous quest to rescue five more humans. This spectacular journey, punctuated with satisfying combat scenes, takes on an epic flavor grounded by Murderbot's sardonic voice and Well's exploration of mental health and physical well-being. Equal parts action packed, humorous, and heartfelt, this proves the series shows no signs of slowing down.
Customer Reviews
Fun Story!
Abrupt start to tale had me scratching my head regarding Murderbot’s experience with characters from previous episodes. Footnotes w references would be nice.
So my memory isn’t what it once was! So What!
I’ve reread M Wells other novels with great pleasure so I look forward to diving into Murderbot Chronicles from the start once again.
Redundant and reductive, somehow.
The author admits the pressure in the post script - they must crank out one of these one per year. The entire book here is a slog. The amount of action would be two chapters in an earlier work. No action. No new tech. Old characters used boringly. It’s a planes and trains chase that feels like a slow hike in the mud. The bloom is off the rose for this IP. Perhaps let someone start ghost-writing it going. forward? It’s such a wonderful character - it’s a shame to see it dying by boring the reader to death.
A good book but the weakest of the series
An interesting adventure for the series but I struggled with the very slow pacing. It kind of reminded me of the “this is the save the budget” episodes in a TV series. It’s just one location, very little action, limited cast, mostly talking. It doesn’t really move the overarching story. It’s just this random adventure.
I get the feeling the author is getting burnt out on the series, but has to fulfill a contract obligation.
Still worth the read if you’re a fan of the series. I just found it really slow with very little substance.